Falling Out
by EmyBunny
Summary: AU where Zim is found by humans as a smeet and raised by them. As he gets older, he is bullied by other humans and becomes an outcast. However, he befriends a college student named Dib and finds that there are other humans who can be friendly. He starts to fall for the human when things go to hell; Familiar creatures are invading earth and they know Zim. ZaDr Rated M for language.
1. Prologue

Bruises and cuts covers the teen's face. Blackness covers the bottom of his right eye. He wheezes heavily as he tries to make his way home. This isn't the first time he's come home like this. And it wouldn't be the last. Blood dribbles down his forehead and past where a nose should be.

Strangers walk by and give him distasteful looks, swinging their head up with a short "hmmp!" The teen winces as he continues to stumble home. He is finally in his neighborhood, yet none of his neighbors will help him.

Memories of their fear of him flashes through his head;

"_He's an odd one!" _

"_Why is his skin green?"_

"_Never heard of such a skin condition." _

"_He looks like a bug!"_

"_Yuck! Ugly child."_

He tried to pay no mind to their mutterings and blatant shouts. But they seem to burn into his mind like when he once burned a lighter head into his arm. It hurt to be hated by so many of the humans.

Why is he different from them? Why is he hated? It hurt...

He finally comes to the fence of his home, catching it and leaning against it for support. It is dark out, an eery quiet settling over the street. He can faintly hear the cars from the highway that's not too far from here.

He makes it through the fence and up the walkway to the the door. He presses his three-fingered hand to the knob and twists, pushing the door open.

Right before falling to the ground.

A scream from the living room can be faintly hear. "Zim!" it's a woman's voice.

She reaches down and flips the teen over. "What happened? Oh god... it's really bad. Harry!" She calls for her husband urgently.

The teen's eyes close slowly and his mind fills with blank.


	2. Chapter One

"_He's worthless. A pathetic excuse for an Invader." the tall creature above Zim said, it's red eyes squinted as it glared at the small smeet. He poked at him with taloned hands, making the poor smeet to whimper and sob. _

_The purple-eyed creature, of the same height as the red, twisted his mouth up in disgust. "Can't even speak yet! How stupid is it?"_

_The smeet's caretaker wrung her hands, unable to look at her leaders. "The smeet seems to be a defect." _

_**Defect.**_

_**Defect..**_

_**Defect...**_

_**Worthless Defect!**_

Zim jumped awake, his breathing harsh as he sat up in alarm. He rubbed at his forehead and winced when a sharp sting resonated from the spot. His right eye felt swollen. He put a hand over his ribs, sliding his legs from under the covers and setting his socked feet onto the cold wooden floor. His breath continued harsh, his chest pounding from the nightmare.

This wasn't the first time he'd had the nightmare; He'd had it almost all his life. What it meant he was never sure.

His bedroom door opened suddenly, a familiar figure peeking their head head into the room. The figure's curly red hair was weighted down by a black beanie, a look of concern on their face. "Zim? You okay? I heard you yelling." It's Zim's older brother Keef. He's home from college for the holidays.

Zim's face turns a dark shade of blue as he blushes. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." he rubs the back of his neck.

"Can I come in?" Keef asked, forcing a smile. Zim nodded with his eyes lowered.

Keef came and sat next to Zim, reaching out to rub the small of his back. "Have you been sleeping lately?" He was much taller than Zim and even sitting he toward over the younger teen.

Zim shrugged in response. "It's no big deal. School's getting rough though... I can't even focus on my studies. Luckily mom isn't getting upset over my grades."

Keef chuckled. "Well, she sees what you can do at home. And she knows the school system is crap. I have no idea why she just doesn't home school you."

"She keeps hoping that I'll turn out like you. All cool and popular." he stuck out his serpentine tongue mockingly.

The older teen laughed. "I'm a ginger. I got picked on in school too. Just not as bad as you. I guess mom thinks that's better."

"It would be better. Maybe I should die my wig orange." Zim teased, winking.

"Hey, not funny." Keef still laughed.

Zim scratched at his wigged head, the wavy brown locks falling into his face. "How's mom and dad doing? I don't remember anything after I fell."

Keef sighed, leaning forward to rest his arms on his legs. "Mom is trying to talk dad into moving."

Zim jumped, as if stung. "B-but they can't! Not because of me!" he tried to keep his voice low but it raised in pitch and squeaked.

Keef put his hand on Zim's shoulder to steady him. "Hey, hey hey... shhh... it's okay." he rubbed his shoulder for comfort. "You'd all be closer to my college. Which means it wouldn't be too hard for them." he tried a smile.

Zim looked down, ashamed. "I feel so bad still... Mom and dad both have jobs here. How are they going to get jobs in a new city?"

"It wont be too bad." the older teen tried to convince his brother.

The younger teen put his face into his three-fingered hands, trying to stop the tears that were welling up. Once again he was at fault. He was causing his family stress. He shouldn't have come home tonight.

Ellen, Zim's and Keef's mom, announced the move in the morning at breakfast. The whole time she spoke she watched Zim, who was playing with his cereal and moping. She tried to stay cheerful but knew Zim was sad. "Sweety, do you want to say anything? You can share how you feel, y'know." she offered, reaching out to put a hand on his free one, thumb brushing against the pale green skin.

Keef chewed on his toast slowly, watching his younger brother in hopes that he'd speak his mind.

Harry, their father, sipped his coffee, concerned with his wife's decision. "Maybe the boy wants to stay. Perhaps he has friends. I know I do."

"Harry!" Ellen snapped, giving him a look. "Please be considerate."

The older man watched his wife's curls sway in the light breeze from the overhead fan. Her hair color matched Zim's wig perfectly. She's gotten the wig for that reason. It made him slightly frustrated that she was trying to make him look apart of the family when he was clearly "adopted." She cared for him more than her own son, it seemed.

"Mom, it's okay. Dad's right. You both have friends here. We should stay. I only have another year and a half and I'll be out of high school. Then we wont have these problems anymore. I promise." Zim hoped that his promise could be kept. And even if it wasn't, he had no problem with moving out so his family never saw the bruises and cuts ever again.

"See? The boy has sense." Harry picked up the newspaper and began to read.

Zim stared at his father with a small sense of hatred. "I'm going to go get ready for school." he stood jerkily and stormed out of the room.

Ellen glared at her husband.

"What?" he said defensively. "He's the one who said we should stay. I just agreed."

"Dad, you made him uncomfortable to speak his mind. He already feels guilty." Keef grumbled, biting down on his toast angrily.

Harry shrugged and continued to drink his coffee.

Zim heaved into the toilet, his fingers dripping with saliva. All of his cereal came up and colored the toilet bowl a crude rainbow. The teen gagged as he shoved his fingers back into his throat, trying to get the sick to go away. His stomach burned.

He's been doing this for years. It became a normal routine. Getting into an argument with his father was never the best of ideas, since things always ended up badly. He missed when his dad actually seemed to care. But that was before...

He vomited again, this time his throat tightening and making it difficult to breathe. He choked on the vomit and ducked his head lower against the bowl.

Zim regained his breath as he laid against the toilet, strings of drool dripping from his slack mouth. When he felt composed enough, he flushed the toilet and wiped his mouth with a washcloth that sat by the sink. He was glad he had a personal bathroom, or he wouldn't be able to do this.

He still hadn't figured out why some foods made him so sick he had to make himself throw up. It burned his mouth.

Filling a cup of cold apple juice (since he was allergic to water for some unapparent reason) that he kept in the bathroom for brushing his teeth. It was pure apple juice with no water. Ellen made him fresh juice every Wednesday.

A knock sounded on the door. "Hey Bud, mom sent me up to check on you."

It was Harry. Zim felt nauseous again, though there was nothing in his stomach. "I'm fine." he didn't want to leave the bathroom. He was glad he'd locked the door.

"Come out here, I want to talk to you." the older man said, his voice gruff.

Zim felt dizzy and leaned against his sink for support. "I'm feeling a little sick." he used that as his excuse, though that never seemed to work.

"Damn it, Zimothy. Open this door." Harry sounded angry now.

Zim, feeling his chest beat rapidly, reached over and unlocked the door, too scared to twist the handle.

Harry pushed himself inside, his scraggly face twisted in anger. "You're being selfish. I can't believe we're moving because of you." he growled, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He pinned Zim to the mirror by grabbing his throat, causing Zim to be pressed against the facet. A small whimper escaped the small teen's throat before it was squeezed out of him.

He really didn't need this today. His hands shook with fear as they gripped the older man's hand that held him steadily.

"You need to be taught another lesson? You still haven't learned? You can be so stupid sometimes." he unbuttoned the teens jeans and slid his hand inside.

_No! Not again!_ Zim screamed inside his head, eyes clamping shut and teeth grit.

"You just never seem to learn. When you are hurt you avoid Ellen. But you never do. You are not her son. Stop making her worry about you." Harry grabbed at Zim painfully, finally releasing the poor boy's throat so that he could undo his own jeans.

"No! Please, I promise I'll stay away next time!" Zim pleaded, knowing to keep quiet or the punishment would be much worse.

"You already pissed me off though." the older man growled, spinning him around and bending him over the sink.

Zim gripped the sides of the marble counter and tried not to cry. Crying only made it worse.

He pressed his cheek against the wall and bit down on his tongue, praying that it'd be over quickly so that he could go to school where being beat up was the worse that could happen to him. He'd be thankful for the next person who punched him.

Ellen dropped Zim off at school, noticing a new bruise on his neck. She reached out and touch it, causing Zim to flinch. "Sorry, didn't notice that one last night... You okay sweety? Dad said you were still upset about us moving." She ran the back of her fingers against his cheek, having always enjoyed how soft her little baby boy was.

Zim just stared out the window, his eyes downcast. "We should stay. I don't want to start trouble between you and dad." he finally said, his voice low.

Ellen frowned. "Baby... you know I'd do anything for you, right?"

Zim looked at her, his eyes dark and empty. "I know, mom."

Her frown deepened. "Are you okay sweety? You seem worse than this morning. Is moving effecting you that bad? Are you sick?" she touched his forehead.

Zim turned away from her, pulling away from her touch. Ellen's eyes filled with tears. "Tell me what's wrong, baby. I just want to make you happy. That's what a mother is supposed to do. Please let me help you." She reached for him again.

"You can't help me." he said bitterly before unbuckling himself and getting of the car. He walked toward the school, lugging his backpack onto his shoulders.

Ellen felt her chest tighten with pain. She wished she could make things better, but when she thought she was helping it just seemed to make him worse.

She wiped at her eyes before starting the car and driving to work.

Zim looked back after hearing the car drive away and sucked in a deep, shuddering, breath. He wished he could tell her what was really going on with him. He wished he could tell her how her husband was a monster and hurting her son. He wanted her to know, but was scared to tell her. What if she didn't believe him? What if Harry hurt her or Keef?

Bullying was the least of his problems.


	3. Chapter Two

_Thanks to everyone who is reading and following this story. You're all awesome. Please don't feel shy to review. 3_

* * *

Zim sat down in his desk for first period, his back achy and his face blue with a constant flush he couldn't contain. He felt like everyone knew what had happened this morning, though he knew that was impossible. He watched as children began to file into the dark and moldy classroom. He stared at their hair and their peachy skin. He longed to look like even the ugliest of their kind.

His mother insisted that he was her son, but Zim would have to be stupid to not know that wasn't true. He was always too timid to ask her how he ended up in the family though. He half wondered if his mother would tell him or just prattle on about how he was her son.

The teacher walked in just then with a armful of papers, smiling to the classroom as he shut the door with his foot. "Good morning students. Hope you're all ready for the test today." he said with forged elation. "Get out a piece of paper and pencil." he continued as he plopped his work onto his desk.

Zim readied himself, glancing over at his fellow classmate. It was a girl with long bleached hair. Her face was caked in makeup and her braces showed as she chewed on the eraser of her pencil. She was tapping her foot absentmindedly on the floor, distracting Zim.

He would have said something, but knew it would end badly. So he turned back to facing the teacher eyes drooping as his mind wandered.

The class droned on endlessly, causing the teen boy to become tired to fall asleep at his desk.

When he woke it was merely because the teacher called his name. Everyone laughed as Zim jumped up in his desk, startled and disoriented. "Yes?" he said loudly as he tried to obtain attention.

The teacher gave him a disproving look. "Office called. You're requested in the councilor's office." he turned away from the class and wrote something on the board. "Go now." he added harshly.

Zim gathered his things and headed out of the class. Councilor's office? He'd never been asked to go there before. Nor had he wanted to go there before.

As he walked down the stinky halls of the school a thought dawned on him and he felt his legs go numb. Did someone know? Was that why they were requesting him in the office?

His hands shook as he tried to swallow up his fear. No. How would they know? No one in his house knew. He was always sure he kept quiet. No one could possibly know.

Zim made his way into the office where an old lady at a desk looked up from her phone. "Zim?" she asked, looking down at a clipboard that sat next to her computer.

The boy nodded, his cheeks tinted blue as his heart picked up.

The lady pointed to a door clearly labeled. "Go in that room, right there." She went back to her phone and ignore Zim, not even bothering to see if he'd listen to her.

He did. Zim opened the councilor's door and saw the middle aged man sitting their patiently. He had a creepy smile on his face that looked like he'd been forcing a smile for too long and now his cheeks cramped.

"Please, have a seat Zimothy." he waved a hand invitingly to the chair across from him. Zim sat and tried to adjust himself comfortably, his backside still aching.

Zim fiddled nervously with his hands. "Why am I here?" he asked, never making eye contact with the older man.

"I'll start off with introducing myself. My name is Mr. Dwicky. I got a call today by your mother. She said she was concerned about you." his smile never faltered.

The teen slumped in his seat. "I'm okay. She's just worried because I'm not one hundred percent happy all the time." Zim shrugged.

"And why is that, Zimmy?"

"Please don't call me that."

The man nodded. "Alright... Then why are you not happy, Zimothy?"

"You can just call me Zim. My full name is a mouthful." Zim bit back annoyance. He was trying to keep calm but he was upset with his mom for calling the school's councilor. "And I'm not..._not_ happy. I mean... I've got a great older brother and mom. I love them and my home life is pretty good."

Dwicky instantly picked up on what the boy said. "You forgot to mention your father. Is your dad not great?"

Zim flinched on the inside, having slipped a bit too much information as is. On the outside his expression was unchanging. "No. He is. We just don't... uh... get along well."

"Does it have anything to do with this?" Dwicky gestured his hand toward Zim, motioning it up and down.

The boy stared at him, incredulous. "What do you mean. Are you making fun of my skin condition?!" Zim's voice picked up at the end. His cheeks grew warm.

Dwicky realized his mistake and tried to quickly fix it. "No! No, no, no...What I meant is; you have a bunch of cuts and bruises. I was wondering if the reason you two don't get along is because of the wounds."

Zim's face paled. "Bullies did this. _Not_ my dad." No... his 'dad' did abundantly worse.

The older man nodded. "So. We've reached the root of the problem."

_So he thinks_, Zim thought bitterly.

"Who is bullying you, Zim?" Dwicky leaned forward in his seat, placing his arms on the desk.

Zim promptly looked away, watching an ant crawl on the moldy walls. The room fell into silence as Zim considered telling the man. It wouldn't make it stop though. They bullying would probably just get worse.

With a disconcerted sigh, Zim turned to look at the patiently waiting man. "No one. It doesn't matter. My family and I might be moving anyway." With that Zim stood, swung his backpack over his arm and walked out of the room.

Dwicky didn't stop him and that slightly stung. Everyone was so trusting. So believing. If they were told one thing they didn't question it.

He hated being apart of a world that never questioned. Was he the _only_ one? Was... was he even _human_?

Zim left the office, and instead of heading back to class, he headed off campus. No one stopped him. Even the dean just watched him leave with a sour expression on her wrinkled face.

* * *

Walking down random streets was probably one of Zim's favorite hobbies. He loved looking at other houses that seemed more homey and safe than his own. He often spent this time to think about what it would feel like to live in a normal family. He knew his family tried to be normal – and for all pretenses, they believed they were normal. Zim new otherwise, of course.

How was having a green-skinned, bug-like, son normal? He couldn't even leave his room without his wig, contacts, and gloves. He wore them all the time. No matter what season. It made him odd, but his taloned hands were sensitive to the world and – if in contact with watery substances – stung.

Zim wrapped his coat tighter around him, his converse shoes gliding against the concrete as he continued to walk. When he breathed out steam came from his mouth.

It would be snowing soon. Zim hated snow. Almost as much as he hated rain.

Soon Zim came by a familiar house. He often would walk by the house out of curiosity. It surprised him that a celebrity lived in this town. A well known one at that; Professor membrane.

It wasn't because of his celebrity status that Zim took interest in his house, though. It was because the house was so odd. And since it was always on the path that Zim took to walk home, it didn't feel weird to stare.

It was almost as if the house was made completely out of purple and green metal. The roof was rounded and had a weird chimney. It was nothing like anything Zim had ever seen, so it piqued his interest. Especially since the house had a nice electric fence surrounding it.

Zim walked a bit slower, his eyes wide as his hair whipped around his face from the wind. He tried to push his hair out of his face as he continued to stare, but having no ears made it difficult to shove the locks behind anything.

Just as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes, Zim saw someone looking out through the window, their eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses that glinted from the light of the setting sun. The man was completely shirtless, his muscles visible even from the distance of the second story and where Zim stood.

Zim's face blushed and he quickly looked away, picking up his pace as he walked away from the house. That was not Professor Membrane. Zim knew Pro. Membrane had a daughter – since she was a year older than him and a senior at his school – but he had no idea the Professor had a son.

Though, that shouldn't have been important. It really didn't matter. So why was Zim's face so flushed at seeing the son's bare chest.

This was no like him. He felt strange. It was probably due to the fact that he had never seen anyone shirtless other than Keef and his dad. And both were on the pudgy side.

Still... Zim was _not_ gay.

As he walked he began to think about it. Well... there was the fact that his family just assumed he was male since that was the role he'd taken on. But even the family's doctor friend – the only person Ellen trusted to treat Zim – wasn't sure if Zim was male or female.

Another thing to the long list of oddities that was Zim.

All his life he'd been called 'he' so he just assumed he was. He felt male. So he had to be, right? Which led back to the thought; "What if I'm gay? That would be so mortifying to my family!"

He walked home with these thoughts on his head, blushing profusely. All because he saw a _chest_. He really was pathetic.

* * *

_Meanwhile... _

A very energetic 19-year-old teen boy ran down the stairs of the Membrane home. His boot-clad feet make quiet the ruckus. His breath picked up as he entered the kitchen, his dark black hair still damp form a shower he'd taken only fifteen minutes ago. He found his younger sister sitting at the kitchen table, her almond eyes glued to her gameslave. "Gaz! I just saw something insane!"

The female teen barely glanced up from her game, grabbing her Poop brand soda and taking a sip. "You say that about _every_thing, Dib." she said his name mockingly as she pushed a lock of her magenta hair out of her eyes.

The older one huffed. "Gaz, I'm serious! I just saw a green-skinned kid! I think it was an alien!" He tried to recapture his little sister's attention. Not that he had it in the first place.

Gaz finally looked up at him, her teeth gritted with irritation. He better be glad she didn't just lose a life on her game of Vampire Piggy Hunter. "You thought that about the lady across the street with acne."

"It wasn't acne. They were huge boils. I was justified in my assumption." he shrugged, just annoying his younger sibling more.

"Dib... I swear... you've been home for two days. Try to keep your craziness down. Can't you just try to pretend to be normal while your here?" Gaz stood angrily and took a big gulp of her soda before leaving the room.

"But I saw an alien for sure." he grumbled, getting annoyed with his sister as well. "It had green skin and three fingers!" he called after his sister.

"His name is Zim. He's a _human_ boy with a _skin condition_. He's a junior at my school." Gaz called back from the top of the stairs before Dib could hear the door slamming loudly.

The older teen sat there for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to go and ask her more about the alien. He had to be an alien. He had weird skin and looked nothing like a human. Well, besides the two arms and legs part. But he was short. Somewhat like how he'd imagined a martian.

That was it. The boy had to be a martian!

Dib rushed upstairs to grab his camera from his room before rushing out the front door.


	4. Chapter Three

_My best friend (NaviaTheWolf on dA) and I began writing the story together. Let us know what you think! 3_

* * *

Zim decided to go through the park on his way home. Because of the weather, parents didn't bring their children to rusty play equipment. It was late anyway. No one wanted to be out with their kids in the dimming light. Mean and nasty hobos came out around this time. Zim ignored that threatening thought as he sat down on one of the creaky swings, using his legs to push himself back.

They sang loudly to Zim's movements, as if giving away his position. The teen didn't care. He was safer here with the hobos than at his own home. He closed his eyes and leaned back, using his stomach muscles and legs to push himself back and forth.

Higher and higher. He felt like he was flying. This comforted him greatly and he was able to forget about his troubles for a bit. And after a while even the cold air didn't bother him.

Back, forth, back, forth. Again and again. His eyes stayed closed as he pretended that the world he lived in didn't exist. He was out beyond the stars. Galaxies away. Glowing and invincible.

He curved his legs up toward the sky, toes pointing as if reaching for something almost in his grasp. Coming down his legs bent, and his body leaned forward, air rushing toward his back.

"Do all aliens play in children playgrounds?"

The voice made Zim jump and he slammed his feet to the dirty ground, skidding to a halt.

He looked over to see a familiar guy – only this time he was wearing a shirt. Zim's face heated.

_What did he just call me?!_ He thought angrily.

"Excuse me?" Zim stood from the swing, feeling irritated and slightly embarrassed by being caught unaware.

"So why are you on my planet?" the boy said casually, ignoring the younger teen's confusion. "Are you hoping to learn the ways of my people or are you hostile?" he said with a severe expression.

Zim couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't believe the boy was serious. "Are you kidding me? I'm on this planet because I was _born_ here. I'm trying to learn the ways of _my_ people and I don't think I'm _that_ hostile." he flashed the other teen a grin.

"Well if you're human, then why are you green?" the boy asked with a suspicious look, pointing to Zim.

Zim's grin instantly fell. He grabbed his other arm, rubbing it. He was feeling a little self-conscience now. "I was born with it...It's...some kind of birth defect." he said in a quiet voice.

The boy looked at him, unconvinced. "Well...I'll be watching you to make sure you're not out to destroy my planet." he shot the green boy a stern glance.

Zim chuckled again, although nervously. "Well if you're going to be stalking me... I think I at least deserve your name." he tried a joking look.

The boy blushed a little. "I'm not _stalking_ you! I'm simply keeping surveillance to make sure my planet is safe. And my name is Dib!" he said in a flustered grunt. How dare he assume Dib was stalking him!

Zim stepped away from the swing and walked towards Dib. "Well, Stalker-Dib, I guess I'll be seeing you around. Welllll... I guess _technically_ you'll be seeing _me_ around." Zim said with a devilish grin as he passed Dib to walk home. His arm brushed against Dib's, causing the older teen to shudder.

Dib blushed even brighter. "Not stalking! Protecting the planet!" He yelled at Zim who was already across the street.

Zim felt that his face was on fire. When he knew the Dib couldn't see him anymore, he reached his hands up to touch his cheeks. They were warm and his head was full of fuzzy. He breathed out to try and calm his racing heart. How come the guy gave him these weird feelings. Was it because he was the first person to notice him? He wasn't sure. But he felt happy and almost giddy at the idea of someone wanting to pay attention to him – even if it was in the way of stalking.

"Okay, seriously... what is wrong with me?" Zim asked the cold night, his voice just above a whisper.

It wasn't long before he heard the pitter patter of running feet. He glanced over his shoulder - still holding his cheeks – to see who was behind him. His eyes widened with alarm, yet it was too late.

The Dib guy crashed into him, having not noticed how close he was to the short teen. Both boys fell to the ground in a tangled heap.

Zim gave a small shriek of annoyance. "What the _hell_?!"

Dib quickly got off of the shorter teen, his face flushed from running and now this embarrassing moment. This should not have happened. He was not being a very convincing savior of earth. He was allowing the _alien_ to see him embarrass himself.

Zim stayed on the ground, wincing as he shook at his left wrist. It was hurting pretty bad.

"S-sorry…" Dib reached down and offered his hand to the wounded teen.

Zim shrank back, now looking up at the older teen with a frightened expression. "You hurt my hand! What did you do to it?"

Dib looked taken aback. "How bad is it?"

"I… I think it's broken." Zim winced against when he tried to move it.

Dib felt completely uncomfortable now. "Are you serious? God... I feel like such a douche now."

"It's okay," he muttered. _I'm used to pain..._ he thought bitterly. "But you just_ had_ to _stalk _me, didn't you?" Zim looked absolutely pathetic sitting on the ground holding his hand. He even had tears in his purple and blue shaded eyes.

"Um...I have a lab back at my place. I can take a look at it there", he said looking at the small boy on the ground.

Zim looked at him, incredulous. "I thought i was an _alien_. Why would you want to help me, pig smelly." He didnt mean to sound so harsh. But he wanted Dib to know how upset he was.

"Well...I hurt you...and...I just wanted to help..." he sighed looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact.

Zim wanted to consider Dib's offer. But he was afraid of getting in trouble. It was only around seven, though... How bad could it be if he told his parents he was at a "friend's" house. They'd probably be happy.

With that logic, Zim sighed. "Fine... Just don't try to dissect me, okay? I _swear_ that this is just a skin condition."

The walk back to Dib's house was quiet and awkward. Neither had said much. Dib was relieved when he saw his front door. Not wanting to walk another minute in awkward silence.

Zim wasn't sure what to say. His hand was hurting worse and worse as they walked. He was more than relieved to have Dib walk him through the front door of the taller teen's home. "Where's the lab?" He asked, pained.

Dib pointed to a door next to a set of stairs. Without a word he walked to the door, taking out a set of keys from his pocket to unlocked it.

He headed down the stairs with Zim following quickly behind. He motioned towards a metal table that sat in the center of the dim room. He flicked on some lights over the medical table.

"You can sit there," he finally spoke as he headed to a closet where he pulled out some gloves.

After slipping on the gloves, Dib walked over to a small side table with an object that looked like night vision goggles on it. He put the weird contraption on his head and walked back over to Zim. "Let me see your hand."

"You really need gloves?" Zim glared. "Its not like my skin is going to hurt or infect you. Stoopid..." He held out his hand anyway, looking about stubbornly and slightly offended.

"You know for someone who keeps on saying they have a skin disorder, you seem to not know anything about medical procedure." Dib said with an angered tone grabbing the boys arm to inspect it.

"Ouch! Be careful!" The younger growled, squeezing one eye shut as Dib examined his hand. "For someone with such a large head you sure don't know how to handle a sick person." He retorted.

Dib made a low growl in his throat trying to contain his anger. He turned on his device and looked at Zims arm. His device enabled him to look beneath the skin much like a x ray machine did. The bone was defiantly broken. The bone had split in two with shards splitting off in both directions. He sighed, "we'll, it looks like its broken."

Zim groaned. "What now? I can't go home like this!" He motioned down to his arm and in the process made Dib notice all the little cuts and bruises the short teen had.

Dib gave the teen a suspicious look. "What are those?" He asked motioning to his arm.

Zim looked flustered. "N-nothing. Just... Uh. I'm not very liked at school because of my looks." He scratched at his head.

Dib looked down at the ground with a sorrowful look. "I know what you mean," he said.

"R-really?" Zim felt almost excited to hear that. It made him somewhat forget the pain in his wrist. He reached up with his other hand and removed dib's goggles. "Why? You look normal to me. Not inhuman."

Zim made sure to not let his skin touch Dib. He held the goggles in his hand, averting his gaze to look at them. He didn't need to stare at the older teen's face to know he was more normal looking than himself.

"I'm different...and people don't like different. Meaning physically or mentally…" he said looking at the younger teen who's eyes were still on the goggles. Dib got up and walked over to a metal cabinet on the other end of the room. He rummaged through it till he stopped at a blue pill bottle. He walked back over to Zim where put it in the young teens hand. I know it's not much but it will at least stop the pain, he said with a faint smile.

Zim eyed it before unscrewing the lid and popping two into his mouth. After swallowing, he thanked the taller teen. "Can I get a wrap to put over my hand before I leave?"

Oh, yeah, he said before shuffling through the drawer to his left where he pulled out some gauze. He started wrapping Zims arm, he felt the young teens skin as he wrapped the fabric around the petite arm. It was so unbelievably soft he almost didn't want to take his hands off of it.

Zim shuddered pleasantly at the touch, face heating as he did. He tried to make it off like he was hurting from the touch but he knew he wasn't hiding it well.

Without much else to say, Zim stood from the table and tapped at the bandage. "Thanks… but, uh… please don't stalk me again, okay?" He said it jokingly but was very much serious.

Before Dib could respond, Zim was walking toward the door, looking down with a mournful expression. Dib was going to say something, but decided against it, letting the other teen leave.

There wasn't much to say anyway.

Zim arrived home shortly after seven thirty. He stepped through the door to find Henry waiting at the couch, his face scrunched up in a scowl. "You've been out all day." He remarked. Zim felt his throat tighten. He hid his hand behind him so it would call even more attention to him. "Where were you?" his 'father' demanded.

"I… was at school. Working on a science project." it _was_ science month. So it didn't seem too

suspicious, he hoped.

Henry stood from his spot on the couch, towering over the small teenager. "Why didn't you call your mother? She's been worried sick."

"Sorry..." he said looking at the floor. "I didn't mean to worry her. I just needed to work on the project. I...just lost track of time." He'd be pissed if he knew what Zim had really been up to; walking around the streets since nine this morning.

Henry crossed his arms and watched the pale green boy for a few moments. He opened his mouth to comment on something when Ellen walked into the room. Her face was flushed and she had a basket of laundry in her arms.

"Oh, Zim, good evening, sweety. You missed dinner, so feel free to make yourself something." she said with a cheery voice before giving Henry a look. "And you. Can you please help me put away this laundry? I never get any help around here!" With that she stormed up to Henry's and her bedroom.

Zim headed up the stairs to his room, not feeling hungry. He shut the door and collapsed on his bed, finally realizing how tired he was from the days events. As he started to dart off to sleep he started to think about the boy from earlier. "What a weird kid..." he thought with a slight smile before falling into deep sleep, undisturbed by nightmares.


End file.
